This invention relates to a radiator arrangement in the front end of a motor vehicle having air inlet openings on lateral air discharge openings adjacent to the front.
The arrangement of an oil radiator and a water radiator in the front end of a motor vehicle with a forward engine is shown by DE-Gm 16 16 796. The water radiator is arranged in the engine space, and the oil radiator lies in a horiziontal plane extending approximately in the area of the lower edge of the water radiator. Air is led to the water radiator and to the oil radiator via openings at the front end. The air flows through the water radiator into the engine space. The air led to the oil radiator is discharged through openings in the floor of the vehicle. In the combined air supply space bordered by the radiators and the walls of the vehicle body, the air coming in from the outside is detrimentaly heated so that this heated air is, for example, supplied to the oil radiator. Because the air led to the oil radiator is discharged through openings in the floor, swirling will occur, accompanied by an impairment of the discharge of air and the creation of an undesirable lift at the front axle of the vehicle.
It is an objective of this invention to provide a radiator arrangement in the front end of a motor vehicle having air inlet openings on the front end and lateral air discharge openings adjacent to the front end by means of which a favorable supply and discharge of the introduced air can be achieved to obtain an optimal cooling performance.
One of the main advantages achieved by means of this invention is the supplying of air to both radiators via separate duct-type spaces so that there is no mixing of the air supplied to the water radiator and to the oil radiator. Another advantage is the ensuring of a fast flow of air to the air discharge openings by means of a combined discharge duct behind the two radiators. Relative to the driving direction, the air discharge openings are arranged in front of the wheel and in the side walls of the body structure and are preferably provided in vacuum areas so that the air can be discharged quickly in an optimal fashion.
Unfavorable effects caused by the heated air on, for example, the brake system, are avoided by means of this invention. Also avoided is a lifting effect caused by large quantities of air flowing under the floor of the vehicle. This is because the air can flow without impairment from the front end of the vehicle to the openings in the side wall so as to be discharged without swirling.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lateral discharge openings are arranged approximately in the same horiziontal plane as the inlet openings in the front of the vehicle. This arrangement of the openings also has an advantageous effect on the drag coefficient. By means of additional discharge openings in the floor or elsewhere, small quantities of air can be branched off in order to avoid an excessive admission of air to the radiators.
Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken with the accompanying drawings, which show for purposes of illustration only, an embodiment constructed in accordance with the present invention.